President Mega officially opens national reforestation program

Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara

President Megawati Soekarnoputri launched on Saturday the national reforestation program in the East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) town of Soe, underlining it should be a community-based program.

The short ceremony was held in the village of Karang Sirih, where the President planted a sandalwood tree, which is endemic to the province.

The regency will plant some 100,000 trees as part of the reforestation program.

"I expect this reforestation program to be a community-based movement and not a government one, so that this can be followed by people all over Indonesia," Megawati said.

The government allotted this year Rp 3 trillion (US$340 million) to regreen some 600,000 hectares of land. The program is part of a recently announced five-year reforestation program worth Rp 15 trillion.

Following his downfall in 1998, President Soeharto's reforestation program came under the media spotlight for alleged misuse of funds.

The regulations of that program required timber companies to contribute funds to the reforestation program, but the accumulated money was often used for purposes other than reforestation.

Timber tycoon Muhamad "Bob" Hasan, known as Soeharto's golf buddy, has been jailed over charges of abusing reforestation funds, among others.

"I deliberately chose NTT to launch the program, because its isolated location, its climate and the quality of its environment have been some of the factors fomenting poverty," said President Megawati.

But the poverty, she said, was the result of the way the people had treated their environment. She said Soe was once known for its apple and sandalwood trees, but had lost its reputation as locals had neglected their environment.

During the one-day trip, Megawati was accompanied by Minister of Forestry M. Prakosa, Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea, House of Representatives deputy speaker Soetarjo Soerjogoeritno and People's Consultative Assembly deputy speaker Soetjipto.

All of the accompanying state officials were members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), which Megawati heads.

The president also attended the celebration of PDI Perjuangan's 30th anniversary at the village. She warned her cadres not to rebel against the party's policies or use the party as a vehicle for personal gains.

She also reiterated her challenge to other political parties to contest fairly in the 2004 general elections against the country's largest party.